Secrets
by CupKate Sweets
Summary: Scientist Katherine Wilson has been obsessed with the Maximum Ride series, so much in fact that it has caused her to work on a paper of dimensional travel. When her work is stolen, there is just one thing that she must do. Stop her work. And what a better way to hide her work than travel to a different dimension? Iggy X OC
1. Chapter 1

_Sometimes, things should stay secret._

 _Ideas and plans,_

 _Only you must keep it._

 _You must ban_

 _All others from your mind._

 _For it is the only thing_

 _That keeps this in hind._

 _Man is a cruel being._

 _Only wishing to cause pain_

 _Upon others they do,_

 _And it shouldn't be anything to gain._

 _But may I ask who?_

 _Who is the one to berate?_

 _Belittle?_

 _Of all things great?_

 _Of all I pummel?_

 _For maybe it is not man that one should fear?_

 _But rather secret._

 _Can one come and hear?_

 _Can one keep it?_

 _Be cautious, my friend_

 _For if you do not_

 _Telling your secret will be your end_

 _And the culprit will never be caught._

Katherine Wilson stared out of her office's stained glass window with peering, cautious eyes. She has always been the weary type and feeling the stares of others upon her back had been nothing less than annoying and incessant. The stares had always been upon her though. For as long as she could remember, the stares had bore into her very existence.

That was a lie. She actually could remember when they started staring.

It started when she graduated and was immediately awarded for her efforts, gaining an instant internship into one of the most prestigious medical science company in the entire U.S. But that was beside the point.

The stares were mere weak ones then.

She had immediately rose through the ranks when she got a lasting job after graduating college and soon enough was a respectable scientist in the biomedical and psychological field at age 26, for she had graduated far earlier than she had previously hoped for. The stares were justified. She _was_ the youngest in her division, after all. She still couldn't shake the awful feeling of peering orbs transfixed upon her turned form.

Was she a genius?

Hell no.

She was just… ordinary.

Ordinary-ish.

Science had been one of Katherine's only safe havens in school, which led her to this job. That and the ability to pick up languages with a cunning knack that only one could call impressive. Art and music were exceptions and included in this safe haven as well. It was no wonder she pursued science, and rightfully so; but it was this activity of pursuing the unattainable intelligence that she dreamed of that was the start of this huge mess. 

Almost all grave mistakes and dark paths can be led most knowingly to one source, a mecca if you will, of one stupid idea.

Katherine knew this thought all too well. Or… will know this thought. It depends on how you view time in a perspective that you understand compared to how she would perceive time. She knows that pursuing science was the start of her misfortune.

Sorry.

Will know.

She had four paths that she could've chosen in life and she decided to follow her brain. Smart choice, dumb decision. That doesn't make sense… does it? No matter. It isn't supposed to make sense. You do not need to understand why, you just need to accept it as a fact and move on. That is how you should take these ramblings, as one would perceive. She could have chosen to be an art teacher. A composer. Even a Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, or English teacher. But noooooooo. She had to follow her intellect and passion for science. Her love for it, even.

It's all because of those damned books.

Yes. Her life's choice had been because of a few fucking books. They were called the _Maximum Ride_ series.

Okay… Maybe not because of the books. But they were a large part of her choice.

She had been interested in science beforehand and probably would've chosen it over the others even if the books didn't exist, but nevertheless, it is mentally reassuring to have an object to blame rather than one's own intellectual preferences towards certain subjects. Alas, the books were the swinging factor that brought her to her major decision in science.

Because of this decision, eyes were forever trained on her.

And she completely, utterly, _despised_ being put in the spotlight.

Especially when her reputational intellect is put at stake.

Katherine twitched nervously away from the window, turning around to stare at her far older colleagues, acquaintances, etcetera. Her hazel, more emerald green than brown orbs transfixed upon the mostly brown mass of eyes with her two odd green that never fit in. Sure, there were others with light eyes, but there were only two people and they were both blue eyed. That beside the point, she shuffled her feet nervously as they stared back, adjusting her glasses to set off her nerves.

There had been a murmur. And God knows that murmurs are never good in a lab.

Her eyes slid to her mousy blond-ish brown hair with obvious red tints. It was neatly held in a long braid that rested beside her left side of her neck, the end tickling her waist as she walked. Her hands toyed with her bangs relentlessly, trying their hardest to smooth down her hair and calm her overworked brain as her pale fingers swept through the strands with ease.

"Who cares to tell me about this murmur I have been hearing about?" she asked, her hands now fixed on the side of her oversized glasses as she peered once again at the others in the room. She had a reign of superiority that was very unusual yet respected at the place of work.  
"I heard from Thomas that they finally figured out a way to communicate interdimensionally. Apparently, this was a top-secret job, but you know Tom. The little bastard can't keep his mouth shut on government affairs." A tall, elderly, hispanic man that she immediately recognized as Angelo, said. His graying hair swept sparsely over his tanned skin. His eyes bulged as he spoke, tell tale signs of possible consequences for this information getting out.  
"Interdimensional communication? How peculiar, if not impossible… Since when did they find a different dimension in the first place?" She asked wearily, her head spinning. This was impossible. This was incredible.  
"I am as much at odds as you, Katherine. I am a man of science, and I know that science is growing more efficient as time wears on, but I am at odds and am baffled at this. I even heard that it was based upon your very paper. You know, the one that got you the internship after you graduated." Angelo said, pulling a box of Marbolo cigarettes out of his pocket, lighting one without a care. That chainsmoker.

"My paper? The one I wrote on the string theory?" Katherine asked, doing her best to wave the toxic smoke away from her face.

"Yes, m'dear. By the way, what _did_ your paper speak of? I tried to get ahold of it when you joined us, for some light reading of course, but they already had it documented and locked away in storage." Said a new voice with a thick English accent. Katherine turned quickly, meeting the azure eyes of Doctor Colin Bartholomew.

"It was just the basics of the string theory. You know...how it is a theoretical framework that the universe (or space as it would be reckoned) is consisting of. The framework being made of "strings" of particle like substances that represent dimensional objects and the like. These strings could very well be parallel or intersecting, even fictional realities are probable. It is estimated that there are at least ten or eleven dimensions or "strings" each vibrating at their own frequency. The laws of physics and such may differ there or even be nonexistent. Furthermore, due to the fact that these particles are moving likely due to the fact that most matter moves or vibrates; these "strings" could cause strange phenomena and such to happen. The phenomena is usually the interaction of these "strings". That's the basics of my paper." Katherine said after pulling her hair tie out of her hair, using it to make strange shapes with her fingers. Nervous habits like these were always a good distraction when in situations as such.

"So, in theory, could one string communicate with another?" A feminine voice from the crowd, Amelia, asked. Said female, an elderly lady about to retire with a shriveled old face and a snobbish expression, walked forward and ran her hands through Katherine's hair. Katherine smiled.  
"By trying to match vibrations, I suppose it is theoretical. In fact, anything is quite possible in theory, Amy." She said, affectionately rubbing her hands along the elderly lady's upper arms. "Doing so would likely cause dire consequences and henceforth it could even make things collide if our frequencies match all through…" Katherine pondered to herself. "Marcus!" She called to a middle aged white male with blonde hair and brown eyes.  
"Yes?" The gravely voice replied, an obvious hint of worry in his eyes.

"Take me to them, please. They, for one, didn't have the permission to use my work; and for two, I highly doubt that they even have the morals that should apply to this sort of technology." Katherine said softly, brows furrowed. This could cause something terrible…

Katherine and Marcus traveled through the halls, the stench of bleach and other cleaners flowing through the corridors like a breadcrumb trail to any of the rooms. White-washed walls and bright blue curtains flashed brightly as they passed them, careful eyes watching for any cords or obstructions that they may trip over. Reaching the stairs and elevators, Marcus caught an elevator, holding it for Katherine.  
"You coming?" He asked, his hand firmly placed on the metal door.  
"Yeah, but not in that death trap. I'll take the stairs. Which floor?" She said, her irrational fear of elevators leading her to the stairs. Marcus nodded, letting go of a weak smile and a haphazard basement leave his lips.

Katherine smiled, running down the spiral staircase. Starting at floor six and going to the basement, she allowed her thoughts to run through her mind. Her breaths came out in hasty pants and her baffled mind was reeling. Stomach stitched in pain, eyes blurry, and feet cautious for her clumsiness, she continued to run down the stairs. Her own mind caused this mess. It is all her fault. Whatever happens, it is her payment that should go, not anyone else's. She burst through the doors of the basement, bumping into Marcus on the way. She smiled, sweaty and exhausted.

"This way." He said, leading her to a pair of steel, double doors. Punching in his access code, he threw the doors open.

Large metal beasts hummed and roared, vibrating at certain wavelengths. Katherine froze, eyes wide. "My schematics! So this is how you found a way to communicate with them!" she shouted, gesturing to the machine and her blueprints laid out upon a table. Three pairs of eyes rose to meet her.

"Isn't it beautiful? Science at it's greatest!" Thomas, the man who spread the rumour, called out. His brown eyes were wide and black hair ruffled and tinted with hints of silver.

"You stole my work!" Katherine shouted, storming up to the man, getting apprehended by a bald man with calculating blue eyes. His ripped muscled pinned her arms behind her back as she painfully landed upon the cold, hard, metal floors. She struggled, her lab coat billowed out and her legs kicked at her attacker furiously, not doing much damage because of the skinny-jeans she wore.

"Yes! I did! But it had to be done! We could be gods! Kings of the new world! And I need you, my queen, on my side! You must find a way to influence the other dimensions! Make them give their work over! Make a clear connection! You see, we have only been able to communicate via short burst of vibrations in morse code sequences. I am sure that you have been thorough in your work, however, and you must have some more ideas, correct?" He said with his eyes glinting maliciously.

"You will never find my work! Ever!" She cried out, and it was true. She had completed her work, but had only turned in a fraction of it here. The rest, she had burned, although it was forever engraved in her mind. It was, after all, based upon her own mentality of wishing to never let certain things go. "I will take my work with me to the grave!" She shouted at the demented scientist furiously.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Now, that won't do!" A middle aged man with red-blonde hair called out, studying her face with sharp eyes. He pulled her up by her hair, grabbing her face and peering into her eyes with cold intent. Katherine scowled, making her knee connect with his crotch before pushing away from him. She ran to the machines, frantically toying with them before getting an idea. A terrible idea.

She started a sequence.

Running and pushing the bald man out of her way, she went under the laser-like beam as it shot out the next round of vibrations. She jumped, touching her hand to the nozzle as she was suddenly racked with pain.

Then… darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

_Nothing is ever as it seems_

 _Life is a tangled mess of things_

 _Danger is around every corner_

 _Be careful, child,_

 _Never stare into the mind of the coroner._

 _Katherine POV_

I slowly pried my eyelids apart, blinking at my blindingly bright surroundings. Stark white ceilings were in my field of vision as well as dazzling, crisp, clean blue curtains and medical instruments. I took a deep breath in as I had immediately assumed that I was in a hospital, my nostrils filling with the pungent smell of the cleaning solution they used. I wasn't in any pain, none that I could tell at least, but I felt... strange, to say in the least. I tried to sit up and assess my damage, and as I tried I felt a breeze go over my head. I was bald. I found it increasingly hard to get up as I flailed and flaunted, craning my neck down, I had found that I was completely bound in a blanket. But my body looked small. Smaller than I could ever remember. A nurse entered the room, sauntering around as if she was on a mission, searching the room's drawers. I tried to call out to her, but I could only manage a strangled cry. I couldn't speak. I couldn't remember how to.

I screamed for help as I started to flip out, my mind going into overdrive as I started thrashing about.

'Help me! What is wrong with me?! Get me out of here!' but all that came out was bubbly gurgles as tears increasingly fell from my nurse rushed over and covered my mouth with her hand, harshly cutting off my air supply.

"Shut up, degenerate!" This filled me with anger as I tried to bite at her, to no avail. It appeared that I had no teeth, my gums hitting her skin caused them to harshly bleed. The nurse roughly yanked her hand back as the irony taste encompassed my taste buds. I coughed, trying to spit out the blood my gums continued to gush it out, the crimson liquid sliding down my throat as it restricted my breathing. Uncontrollably coughing, I tried to save myself. The nurse suddenly rushed out of the room and brought in a doctor, who picked me up and put me over his shoulder, patting me on the back. I coughed up the blood and continued to rest there, crying a bit as I waited for them to stop bleeding. He put me back down and I went to wipe my mouth with my hands, but lifting them up I noticed that they were tiny fists. My eyes went wide. I was a small child. No. I was a newborn baby.

As my mind tried to grasp this fact, I allowed my eyes to wander around the room more, glancing at the other babies that appeared to be mutated. I then finally read the name tag on the doctor who saved me. His name was Batchelder on the tag, but I could only assume that his whole name was Jeb Batchelder from my surroundings. It was then that everything clicked. I was in hell.


	3. Chapter 3

_There are some things that shouldn't happen._

 _But they do._

 _Death._

 _Pain._

 _Sorrow._

 _You have to learn to discard your heart in a bin_

 _To deal with what the world construes._

 _Death._

 _Pain._

 _Sorrow._

 _You don't want those you care for_

 _To see it._

 _Death._

 _Pain._

 _Sorrow._

 _But it is futile, to think you can prevent it is lore_

 _We all notice when it hits._

 _Death._

 _Pain._

 _Sorrow._

 _There is nothing to prevent._

 _Death._

 _Pain._

 _Sorrow._

 _It is always there._

 _Katherine POV_

A few days had passed and I had taken that time to sort out my thoughts. So, I was a newborn baby. I couldn't talk, walk, or write. Apparently just because I had the soul of a twenty-six year old trapped inside the mind and body of a child, I couldn't do things I could do before quite as easily. I could remember how to do things, my body just won't let me act it out yet. Jeb had come and gone and I had come to a conclusion of sorts when it comes to my thoughts about him. While I don't like him, he is still a billion times better than half of the other scientists here. I had been poked and prodded at for a long while by the others, Jeb hasn't done that yet. He's brought me my milk and bandaged me up after each injection the others had given me. Of course, I couldn't defend myself with this new body, so the hospitality after the fact had been the only good thing here. Of course, I doubt it will last long.

This being said, I was still in a state of disbelief. In my old profession, I was taught to think everything is possible, but nothing we had ever done had been this extreme. Not to me at least. And it never directly affected me either. It was quite depressing actually. What if everything isn't real? What if I am dead? Will I ever see those I love again? Do they even exist here? I tried to pull my mind out of this, and looking around, it was easy to do so. This truly was purgatory, and from what I could tell, this was just the beginning of it. Children around me were mutated or badly deformed. Some had been covered completely in slimy scales, others may have had body parts in places where they shouldn't have had body parts, or even part animal part human.

One young boy in a cot to the left of mine was missing an arm and an eye, chunks of flesh jutted out from his socket and all over his body in large, grotesque bumps. These bumps appeared to be scar tissue, and was likely very painful. His one working eye leaked blood, pus, and some milky, blue-ish substance… also tears. The poor boy was probably more frightened than I. From what I could tell, he couldn't speak because his tongue was so covered in these hard bumps that it had destroyed some of his mouth. Just looking at him made my blood run cold and instilled fear in myself for not just the boy and myself, but everyone else in this place. Unfortunately, I haven't seen myself yet so I don't know how horrifying I may actually be.

To the right of me was another young boy, around my age actually, his beautiful crystal blue eyes wide in terror. A pair of tiny wings as pale as snow with a slight gray tint protruded from his back, they looked so soft and these past few days I've really wanted to touch them. I tried to roll my fat baby body over, reaching out to crawl into his cot. I pressed my face into his wings, allowing the feathers to tickle my nose. I let out a small giggle from the tickling and started to pet the wings as the boy began to relax. This was my comfort in my place of hell.

Suddenly, I heard a scream to the left of me, and I looked over in terror. It was like a scene in a horror movie. A macabre. There was no way that this could have been real life. The poor boy to the left of me had curled in pain as he started to erupt in scar tissue, his skin turning a sickly cadmium yellow. He was in such excruciating pain that he had vomited, unable to sit up, he started to choke upon it. Gagging and gasping for air, there was nothing that I could do for him. Especially in this body of mine. His stomach split open, revealing his intestines as they eroded away; his liver was scarred past what it ever should have been, especially for a baby. Blood spilled from his carcass into my cot as he stopped flailing and went limp. Horrified, I covered the eyes of the boy I now shared a cot with, preventing him from seeing that. We were all just small children, terrified for our lives, now in an unforgiving and cruel world. And there was no escaping it.


	4. Chapter 4

_Trapped_

 _Caged_

 _Strapped_

 _Chained_

 _I am enclosed_

 _In this terrifying world_

 _Trapped_

 _Caged_

 _Strapped_

 _Chained_

 _Hope eroded_

 _Brain jumping hurdles_

 _Trapped_

 _Caged_

 _Strapped_

 _Chained_

 _No way out_

 _No escape_

 _Trapped_

 _Caged_

 _Strapped_

 _Chained_

 _The best way about_

 _Is acceptance_

Soon enough, days in this purgatory blended into weeks, weeks blurred to months, and months smudged into years. In a place filled with deathly change, surprisingly nothing changed. Which sounds confusing, I understand, but let me explain.

Different people had come in, all with horrible conditions, but none had hope. This hopelessness consumed us all. Eroded away at our lives. In this purgatory, nobody thrived except for the white coats, and everyone was just scraping by to survive. Eventually, it had even gotten to me. In my previous life, I never would have called great scientists by the derogatory name of "white coats", but it seems that in this world, there was no honor in the job. No compassion. No morals. Everything chocked up to raw Darwinism. Survival of the fittest, and by example, survival of the best mutated.

Over the course of two years, I had seen that I look similar to how I used to appear with pale pearl skin, honey brown hair, and emerald eyes to match my petal lips and a thin nose. I would be beautiful if it weren't for the fact that I had been malnourished. I had been given the name of Patient MDXCIII. That's another thing I hate about this place. There's no names. Only numbers. They use it as a dehumanizing tactic to make us uniform and submissive.

I taught myself necessary human functions. This, of course, was more difficult without my caring family behind my back. The faces of my loving parents started to fade in my mind with time, even though I swore to myself that I wouldn't forget my family. In fact, they were one of the two only things holding me together in this place. My family, and of course the boy who lived in the cot next to mine. I had taught him, now known to be Patient MDXCIV, how to live as time went on, with speech and walking as well as other needs. We had grown to be inseparable, to the point of which the white coats had to take me to all of his checkups because I would literally latch onto him. But with the white coats from yesterday, I had been labelled, and I would have to tell him goodbye,

Fortunately for me, my miserable life may not go on much longer.

I had been found to be… a failed mutation…

All failures must be disposed of

I have about three days left, with the blue marker marking that they had numbered me with. They use them to count down the days before execution. Red means that you're lucky with a week left, those with red can be taken off the list easily. Orange means six days, meaning they are almost certain you are to be euthanized. Yellow is where things get serious; they put a yellow wristband on you instead of a marking, which means that you're finalized in the execution process. No escape now. Green means four days left. Blue means three. Indigo is two. And purple means that it's the day of execution. After executed, the purple is washed away like all the other markings and replaced with either a black or brown mark. Black meaning the body is to be incinerated. Brown… meaning dissection.

My only hope is that I am a black. Some browns are marked before death, meaning they are not killed so that they can test pain receptors in some dissections. In that case, you would wish that you were dead until the very end.

Death is merciful here,

A sweet escape.

On blue day, I've noticed that they usually have Patient LXXIV come in and read the minds of those on execution block. Meaning that it's my turn to have my mind read, this is how they weed out psychic powered humans from failed experiments. This is a problem. If they find out that I am from a different dimension, God only knows what they may do to me. I wouldn't be given my freeing death and they'd certainly take me off the execution block.

"Patient MDXCIX" Patient LXXIV awaited the other patient they had called. Unfortunately for me, there was not a long line for execution this week. Just five people. A boy of black hair and cold blue eyes walked up to Patient LXXIV, nothing appeared to be wrong with him; he seemed human, which was likely the reason he was on execution. This was also my reason. Patient LXXIV's hands rested upon the sides of his face.

"Let's just get this over with" MDXCIX sighed. LXXIV concentrated, gathering all the information she needed. LXXIV looked over at the white coat next to her and gave him a look. I could only guess meant that she telepathically gave the information over to him.

"Mind reader" the white coat called out to MDXCIX "you are off the execution block" he told the black haired boy before dipping a soapy sponge in a bucket of water, washing off the blue mark from his arm. He then nodded over to one of his coworkers, the fellow white coat grabbed him harshly by the arm.

"NO! Please! I am not a mind reader! Let me go!" The boy's cold eyes turned fearful as they dragged the pleading boy away.

"Next" LXXIV called out, reading the list as if that fiasco had never happened. This upset me. But everything upset me here. LXXIV brushed her white hair behind her ear, crimson eyes focusing on the next name as her rabbit ears twitched. "MDXXXIX" she called out as a barely living reptilian being trapped in a clear water tank was wheeled to the albino rabbit woman. A white coat forcibly pulled his head out of the water and I watched on in horror as his face immediately dried and scabbed up angrily. LXXIV made a disgusted face, nevertheless doing her job. The white coat in charge of the list nodded when she looked over at him, putting a check mark by his number.

"MDXCIII" She called out to me next, and I panicked. I need to block my thoughts, protect myself! I walked forward as I thought of the only thing that may work. I imagined a room with an old box television playing white noise. I sat on the ground in front of it, staring at it. When LXXIV put her hands on my head, she entered, sitting there next to me.

"Really? She asked as she looked at me. "This is the oldest trick in the book. There's no fooling me." She stood up, feeling around the walls as she looked for a door. Finding nothing, she then looked around the television. "Come on, MDXCIII, I don't have time to play games." She angrily shouted.

"I have a name, you know." I retorted back, pissed. LXXIV found an opportunity in this of course.

"Oh. And what would that be?" She quizzed me.

"I'm not telling you." I blankly answered. She noticed a small crack appear on the ceiling as I said this. She smirked, raising an arm to touch the ceiling. I immediately got defensive, and she was pinned to the wall with knives appearing from the crack. I stayed still, staring at the television as she tried to escape. I send a knife flying at her, cutting her cheek. Suddenly, she was gone from my mind.

LXXVI reeled back from me, her hands clutching her face. She looked back at the white coat.

"She has psychic powers" She stated as blood leaked from her cheek, "And… she's hiding something". My eyes widened in fear as the whitecoat crossed my name off the list and harshly scrubbed the marking off my arm. No. This cannot be real.

I was a fool to think that I could escape my fate so easily.


End file.
